All Sweat and Lycra

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The story so far

Training this year began in Feb as soon as the thaw came. Winter in the south of Ireland was one of the coldest on record. I returned from holiday in Chile to hard frost and frozen pipes. The icy roads meant no cycling until late January. I tried to keep fit in the gym but my weight kept climbing.

February 1st came and I decided to seek the help of a professional. I began a weekly session with Lise at physiocise. My initial weigh-in was an eye opener. My weight was up to 100Kg and my waist to 100cm. My experience at previous etapes had thought me that when it comes to les alpes- Weight is everything!.

I was close to despair- My target weight of 85Kg or even a normal BMI with a weight of 87Kg did not seem possible. ‘I won’t be able to do it’- Lise ignored my protests. I was to learn that she does that a lot.

Sessions on the gym began- Tuesday morning, up at 06: 30- lung bursting pain for one hour and five minutes followed by a strange feeling for the rest of the morning. It took me a while to recognise it,satisfaction.

I progressed well but Lise bemoaned my lack of ‘ a core’. I had studied anatomy but no where in my books had I read about a core. During all those hours of dissecting cadavers I did not come across a core. Did those people left their bodies top science in vain? Two session at the gym later I began to get pain in my core so I had no trouble accepting it’s existence. Like the internet it must not have existed when I was in college.

Last Tuesday I completed a fitness test after ten sessions. Weight and waist are down, fitness is up. My weak core still makes Lise wince but I might be getting there. I think Lise felt I might have been more enthusiastic about my results but it will be difficult to reach my target weight in time and my difficulty in previous years has been in maintaining progress.